How to Find Your Own Artistic Style in 3 Steps

If you’ve ever spiraled while trying to “pick a niche” or name your brand, you’re not alone — you’re actually in good company (I’ve personally cried in that clown car of expectations, you’ll get the reference if you watch the video below 😅).

The truth is, how to find your own artistic style isn’t about choosing from a dropdown menu of options, like “oh, I’m going to be in the folk niche,” or “hey, maybe I should put myself in the abstract genre.” It’s about remembering the truest parts of you — the ones you’ve probably been told were “too much” or “not enough.”

So before you think this is all about a list of aesthetic prompts for you to choose to find your niche, it’s a little different than that, friend. It’s a lil invitation to return to yourself.

Here’s how.

BTW, if you’d rather watch, you can here 👇

Step 1: Lean In Instead of Looking Out

The first key to unlocking your style is to stop scanning the horizon for inspiration and start listening inward.

Related: How to Make Money as an Artist When You’re Tired AF

Use the “Caricature Philosophy”

Imagine you’re at a carnival. You sit for a caricature drawing, and without saying a word, the artist sketches something unmistakably you. They’ve captured your essence just by observing and making their own decisions.

An artistic style is just that — it’s not something crafted, but something noticed by you effortlessly being yourself.

When you approach how to find your own artistic style this way, you stop performing and start falling deeper and deeper into who you truthfully are.

What quirks do people always notice about you?

What details do they exaggerate or comment on?

What do you get complimented on?

Those are signals.

Your style might already be visible in ways you haven’t named yet — in your posture, your palette, your pauses.

Name the “Too Much” or “Not Enough”

Often, your creative DNA is hiding inside critiques.

Maybe you were told your color choices were “too muted,” or your acting was “too subtle.” But instead of fixing those traits, what if you leaned in?

I used to feel like I would never be an actor because I never got cast in my college productions. I just couldn’t get myself to be super big and overemphasized on stage unless I got the training to do it truthfully. Eventually, after college, I did, but in the moment, I felt like I was “too small.”

But now, I feel like it’s more of an energetic, artistic signature.

Being too small helps me be just right on my YouTube channel, and has helped auditioning for film and television — it feels so much more natural!

What if that’s your signature? The thing you’ve been thinking you need to change about yourself?

The magic of how to find your own artistic style lies in the alchemy of self-acceptance. Your “too much” is your magnetism. Your “not enough” is your nuance.

The moment you stop resisting is the moment your style begins to breatheeeee. 🧘‍♀️

Step 2: Focus on What You’re Doing, Not What You Are

This is for the artists who freeze when someone asks, “So, what do you do?” As if your entire soul’s journey could fit on a name tag. I get it!

Here’s the reframe: You don’t have to be a thing. That’s not actually what people are asking, anyway. Truly, you get to talk about what you’re doing — today, this week, this month. This isn’t a question of “what are you doing in your life as a whole?”

And while you might be wondering “what the heck does talking about my work have to do with how to find my own artistic style?,” it’s the practice of talking about the work.

Trade Titles for Actions

Instead of saying “I’m a writer,” try: “This month, I’ve been writing a short story inspired by a dream I had.” That’s a doorway. It invites connection, curiosity, and conversation.

You soften the grip of imposter syndrome when you shift from identity to action. You also give yourself permission to change. One of the gentlest secrets of how to find your own artistic style is that your style is ALIVE AND BREATHING!

It grows with what you create, not what you call yourself and your job titles.

Practice Telling the Story of Now

Practice this in little ways. When you journal. When you talk to friends. When you write your bio. Focus on what’s present — what’s in your hands, your heart, your studio THIS WEEK, or THIS MONTH, not this pressure of “this is what I have to be from now on!”

This not only liberates you from needing to “arrive,” but it builds a rich archive of your evolving artistry. Over time, these tiny snapshots will start to reflect a style more real and nuanced than any niche formula could ever offer.

And as it relates to how to find your own artistic style, it gets you into the practice of not placing yourself into a box whenever you’re asked to explain who you are or what you’re doing.

Step 3: Use the Style Equation

When it comes down to it, your style is a simple, 2-ingredient potion:

Your style = how others perceive you + how you see the world.

How Others See You

Visual branding can help here — colors, fonts, photos — but it’s also in your cadence, your humor, your silence. You don’t hire someone to do your branding so you can fit into it, but your branding reflects who you already are.

And while you can’t fully control perception, we can offer consistent clues. Clarity, over time, builds trust. And trust builds style.

This part of how to find your own artistic style is like arranging your home — not for others, but to reflect what feels like you. Others will walk in and feel it without needing an explanation.

The Lens Through Which You See the World

This is your interior universe — shaped by childhood memories, personal values, heartbreak, favorite seasons, secret obsessions. It colors everything you create, whether you realize it or not.

What do you always return to, in your acting, in your artwork, in your designs?

Do you write about longing? Photograph shadows? Paint softness?

These are all breadcrumbs.

When I started writing music, I tried to force anger and edginess into my songs. But they never felt quite right. When I leaned into softness — pillowy drums, tender chords, hopeful lyrics — everything flowed so much more easily, and I realized something. How to find your own artistic style isn’t about inventing who I am, but finding what’s already closest to me.

My most natural state is in inspiration, collaboration, love. So THAT’S where I needed to pull from, because it’s a shorter “drive.” 🎵

Related: Slow Living for Artists: How to Create Without Forever Hustle

You Already Have Your Style, You’re Just Remembering It

Your style is the thread that’s been quietly weaving through your life for years — in your friendships, your favorite movies, your decorating choices, your email drafts.

You don’t have to find it, you just have to remember.

Every time you honor what’s easy, what’s real, what lights you up (even if it’s not “on trend”), you’re moving closer to your true style. And the more you lean in, the more whole you become — not just as an artist, but as a human being!

So sweet friend, if you’re still wondering how to find your own artistic style, put down the pressure, pick up the pen, and start from where you are.

Style is something you let speak. And I, for one, can’t wait to hear what you have to say. 🎶

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